Who Also Called Himself An Agnostic - 1730 Words

In his autobiography, Darwin, who also called himself an agnostic, wrote that the magnificence of the universe almost forces one to conclude that God exists. However, he continued, â€Å"Can the mind of man, which has, as I fully believe, been developed from a mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animal, be trusted when it draws such grand conclusions?’ He goes on to say that the problem is further compounded by the probability that, â€Å"The constant inculcation in a belief in God on the minds of children has produced so strong and perhaps inherited effect on their brains, that it may now be as difficult for them to throw off their belief in God, as for a monkey to throw off its instinctive fear and hatred of a snake.† For this monkey at†¦show more content†¦Somewhere in my mind there still swaggers the fine young atheistic monkey waving is insolent hard-on at the world, but suddenly it’s no longer amusing or effective and soon it will become embarrassing. I am not afraid of death, I’m afraid of a moment when, immobilized by something fatal, and unable to distract myself with work or sex or illusions of progress I reflect on my life and see a rich and fascinating landscape, and me off to one side of it, a rat in a wheel of darkness. It’s time to become wise and happy. But how? I am an adolescent lobbed into adulthood without the necessary equipment. Perhaps religion is the answer. Christianity, so long as it is shackled to the Bible, is completely inadequate for the needs of complex modern life. Its symbolism, though often beautiful as art, has become spiritually worn out and provides neither authentic inspiration, nor comfort, nor the provocation of intelligent conscience. And when it makes a statement that might cause discomfort, such as â€Å"It is as hard for a rich man to get into heaven as for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle,† it is conveniently overlooked or tortuously reinterpreted. On winter nights, I pass by churches and marvel at the sight of homeless people freezing to death on the steps. The doors of these, the richest churches in America, are locked. The heat is on inside, so in the morning wives of investment bankers and stockbrokers can come and pray in comfort